Was quite the week!  Republicans demonstrate governance, really didn't turn out all that well..

Anyone tired of winning yet??

We as the patients have some input to the price through demand, but not as much as you might think.

Certainly as a consumer of health care services we do have input as to pricing.  But unlike a good or service that we routinely purchase, health care isn't a good example of a "free market" where consumers can shop around to determine the best price/value.  We as a society in general are becoming more sedentary, older, more obese and voluntarily partake in activities such as smoking, drunk driving, and eating high sugar/fat diets.  All of this leads to greater use of health care.

There are three major elements that affect price - supply, demand and costs. Diversity of policies is a supply issue, whether that is different kinds of policies, interstate competition or even access to different doctors. How we as patients use the system is a demand issues, how much we go to see a doctor, using urgent care over emergency room and choosing lower costing services.

No disagreement there except for the interstate competition, that already occurs.

I am convinced that cost is the major factor driving the price of health care today.  It is expensive because stratificiation makes it expensive.  You just cannot have so many companies in an industry and not have costs go up.  Every layer adds their costs and profit to the pile and passes it onto the next layer.

The actual cost of healthcare is indeed a major driver.  That cost has been rising well before Obamacare.  I'm with you on the complexity and the different firms involved.  I live in PA, headquarters is in TX.  My healthcare "insurance" (we self-insure) is provided by Aetna, managed by Hewitt, with Meridian as the payer, also involved are companies called AON, JIFF and Quantum Health.  Each of those firms get their cut somewhere along the line. 

A good article as to why costs are what they are is here:

http://khn.org/news/health-care-costs/

We could afford our healthcare without our government, if it weren't for our government.

Not at all convinced of that.

It's a good thing you said "they", because there are many reasons.

Very true!  It is convenient to blame "the government" but it is far, far more complex than that.  We ourselves, as potential patients are part of the problem.

My opinion is that health "insurance" fails the simple tests that would confirm that it is an insurance product. Parts of it qualify as insurance, but not the whole of it. And, in fact, it has become less of an insurance product than it used to be, by increasing out of pocket costs for the unknowns, and decreasing out of pocket costs for the known.

So if it isn't insurance, what is it? I'm not sure, but I do know that it serves to obfuscate and allow to be obfuscated the true cost of care. And, together with the fact that there are limited players in the health "insurance" market, it prevents the capitalist approach from working if in fact it could work.

I would agree with this.  Over the last 40-50 years, various bits and pieces were added on as far as insurance requirements, government regulation and individual needs.  None of them fit well together.

Obama said that for 8 years.

Obama isn't President.... I'll make a big leap of faith and assume you expect more of the current President.

Fine, burn it down.  Elections have consequences.  About time the American electorate woke up to that fact.

That may be the end result since the proposed plan is certainly no improvement.  That being said, hopefully the Administration and the Republicans have a Plan B.  Try as they might to deny it, the Republicans now own health care.  From spending 7 years trying to repeal and having no replacement until recently, the public clearly understands that if it fails, they know who to blame.  With the Republicans having the Presidency, the House and a slim lead in the Senate, it will be pretty hard to just sit back and say "ain't my fault".  Of course the Republicans have done all they could to see that it fails, from limiting Medicaid expansion to changing the rules for risk corridors to eliminating the cost sharing provisions and the recent EO.  So maybe that is the best way, start all over.

Except that Hannity is right and Maddow is wrong.
Hannity speaks facts and Maddow lies.

    Which clearly illustrates why we have such a divided and polarized (politically) situation!   

When you're a leftist cheerleader and you've lost Slate, you're having a really bad day.  They didn't pull any punches, either:

Rachel Maddow Turned a Scoop on Donald Trump’s Taxes Into a Cynical, Self-Defeating Spectacle

Didn't see the Maddow show, but from what is out there on the net, does sound like she made a big buildup of a breathtaking scoop when the reality was the President made a lot of money and paid a lot in taxes - big whoop!